Welcome to New Foundations’
quarterly care. We are developing web pages to display our newsletter.
Our objective is to keep our staff, foster parents, children and other
social service professionals informed as to what is happening in each
of our offices. Since our newsletter will be available to view on our
website, we will use first names only in conjunction with the children
placed in our children’s drawings and paintings, so please submit any
artwork you would like to have posted to your case manager, supervisor
or recruiter. We would also like to hear from our foster families and
our teenagers about your experiences with New Foundations and the
foster care system, so we also encourage you to submit your accounts
or stories to your case manager, supervisor or recruiter as well. By
sharing your accounts on our website, we would like to provide a
better understanding of the rewards and challenges of foster parenting
to prospective foster parents and other interested parties.

About New Foundations

New Foundations is a private, non-profit
child welfare agency that is licensed by the Department of Public
Welfare to provide service to children and families in
Philadelphia and the surrounding counties. We currently serve 234
children and their foster and biological families in the following
ways:

Foster Care Services

Kinship Care Services

Aftercare Services

Adoption Services

SCOH Services

Program Office News

New
Foundations staff attended Feel the Beat’s 3rd Annual Toy
Drive on 12/4/08 at the Commodore Barry Club. All toys collected at
the event were donated solely to New Foundations Children and
families. Special thanks to Shante Lee for her time and effort in
orchestrating the event and to Feel the Beat Productions for
selecting New Foundations for their generous donation.

Special thanks
to Deatrice Fields
and Danielle Williams for their efforts in coordinating Toys for Tots
on behalf of New Foundations. Their time and energy was greatly
appreciated and allowed the agency to provide quality toys to our
families during this holiday season.

New
Foundations’ staff sends their best wishes and thanks to Ms. Lois
Loftin upon her resignation after many years of service as our
secretary. She will be missed. We also welcome Panya Craig to New
Foundations. Panya will be working as our new secretary along with
Joyce Palmer.

Philadelphia Office

The Rising Sun
office is doing a magnificent job as they continue to manage over 140
children in foster and kinship care. Hats off to the Rising Sun Office
that is currently staffed with case managers, secretaries, and
transporters. The Rising Sun office works together as an effective
team with the support and guidance of supervisors Deatrice Fields and Sherron Samuels. New Foundations
welcomes Constance Pinero, newly hired case manager, with open arms as
she started her journey of working with children and their families.
Thus far she has been doing a tremendous job and appears to be a great
asset to the team. Good Luck Constance.

The Rising Sun
team works to achieve permanency by reuniting children with their
biological families as well as through adoption and permanent
guardianship. Rising Sun
gives special thanks to all of our foster parents who provide nurture
and love to our children in need and are a wonderful asset to our
team.

The Rising Sun
team continues to acknowledge exceptional and outstanding foster
parents on a monthly basis. The foster parent of the month receives an
award certificate along with a gift card
from Wal-mart or a super market. The foster parent of the month is
decided upon by the case managers nominating one foster parent on
their case load list and speaking highly of the foster parent to the
other staff members as to why that foster parent should win foster
parent of the month. The other staff members then vote for the best
candidate for foster parent of the month. Congratulations to Eula
Harris who won foster parent of the month for January 2009, and George
Pollydore for February 2009. Keep up the good work foster
parents!!!!!!!!

The children
that we provide service for at New Foundations are our pride and joy.
We are delighted and thrilled when our children achieve and stand out
in areas and activities, despite their disruptions of life.We congratulate Avis C., Erica C., April C., Terrance C., and
Charles C, who were all recently adopted by their foster parents.
Sherron Samuels sends special congratulations to the Abel, Lazorko and
Brown families on their successful adoptions. Good Luck in all of your
future endeavors to both you and your new families.

We salute
Vishna C. for her achievement of becoming her school president. We are
proud of you!!! We also would like to acknowledge six other children
for their educational achievement of making honor roll this marking
period. On the sports page, congratulations to Ezekiel S. for
continued success playing minor league football. He was named MVP.
Rising star, Isaiah S. is working on recording his first CD. Anyone
looking for a career in music can consult with Ms. Wills, who is a
producer/manager.

As the children
and the foster parents excel, so does the staff here at the Rising Sun
Office. Congratulations to Nafeesah Reed,
case manager, on her marriage. Best wishes to you and your husband as
you begin a new life together. Joyce Palmer secretary and Najah
Knight, case aide continue their studies at Community College of
Philadelphia, majoring in Liberal Arts and Human Services.

For all those foster parents who are struggling with their own
personal issues or who are having difficulty with the children under
their care, stay encouraged. Foster parenting is a valuable community
service. We love you for your efforts!

Swarthmore Office

The New
Foundations Swarthmore Office had a cold winter.We survived unexpected weather which included a severe
thunderstorm that caused us to keep our office doors closed for a day.There were icy days, and days where we thought the sun would
stay out but suddenly a dark cloud would appear.Despite all of this unexpected and inclement weather, the
staff still proceeded in their activities of making sure the needs
of the children were met.We had family visits during this time andprovided the family with board games and family movies to
watch to promote bonding, as the staff may have had to chase some of
the toddlers around the office in games of hide and seek and
peek-a-boo.

Swarthmore wants
to recognize two of the Case Managers who are presently pursuing their
Master’s Degrees from Strayer University;
Marsha Komara and Shayvonne Jackson. They are colleagues and
classmates. Spring is here and the entire staff is looking forward to
sunny predictable weather days.

Recruitment

The Recruitment
Unit has approved ten resource homes during the last quarter.
Recruiters Kirsten Kovalchick
and Ebony Fowler, have settled into their new office on Rising Sun
Avenue and have been busy doing outreach into the surrounding
communities in Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties in an effort to
get to know our new neighbors, especially those who may want to become
foster parents.

Congratulations to Ebony, who celebrated her first anniversary with
New Foundations in January and to supervisor, Sandie Caulder, who
celebrated her thirteenth anniversary in February. Recruiter Kwanda
Smith continues her studies in Health Services Administration at
Strayer University in Springfield. Keep up the good work, Kwanda. Good
luck also to Ebony as she prepares to take the GRE.

Services to Children in
Their Own Homes (SCOH)

As of 2/28/09,
the New Foundations SCOH program was servicing 43 families. During
this quarter, we had 10 successful discharges from our SCOH program.
We continue to work together with the Department of Human Services to
ensure the safety and well-being of all of our families, and to assist
in transitioning our families to IHPS (In-Home Protective Services), or
to successful discharge from the agency. The SCOH unit was able to
provide holiday gifts to families courtesy of Toys for Tots and is
greatly appreciative for their assistance during this holiday season.
We also continue to wish Wenonah and Margie much success in their
educational endeavors.

Adoption

The adoption
unit continues to do a wonderful job achieving permanency for
children in foster care. Supervisor, Amy Morris, reports that
the adoption unit is currently working on thirty-nine Performance
Based Contract (PBC) adoptions through the Philadelphia Department
of Human Services. Through the SWAN contract, they are currently
working on eight units of service with Delaware County CYS.
They also have four waiting family profiles in study. In
addition, they are currently working on proposals to provide
Post-Permanency Adoption Services and Child Specific Recruitment.
Amy attended a training on FACES and Risk Assessment on September
30, 2008, which are assessments used for post-permanency services.
John Sandy is the South East Regional Technical Assistant for New
Foundations, Inc.

Adoption
Coordinators, Rachel Buxbaum and Joy Lander, attended the SWAN SE
Regional meeting on September 9, 2008. The topic was
“Post-Permanency Services 101.” Amy and Joy attended the SWAN
Quarterly meeting on October 28, 2008. They attended the following
workshop: “Child Specific Recruitment (CSR) and Family
Engagement-Putting it all Together.” Joy attended the New Unit
Provider meeting for child preparation and post-permanency services
on November 18, 2008.

Amy
continues to attend the quarterly DHS Supervisor's forums, which
have been focusing on developing the family profile, child
preparation, and Act 160. Amy, Rachel, and Joy also continue
to attend monthly Delaware Valley Adoption Council meetings.
Meetings this quarter included a matching event and the following
trainings: “Making Ends Meet” and “Trauma and Attachment.” In
addition, adoption staff continue to attend training through PCCYFS.
Amy, Rachel, and Joy also participated in Cultural Competence
training at New Foundations, Inc. on October 30, 2008.

If you, or
anyone you are connected with is interested in learning more about
adopting a child, please contact our adoption unit at (215)
203-8733.

Aftercare

Aftercare
Services are provided to children and families who have achieved
permanency through Reunification and Permanent Legal Custodianship
(PLC). Services are provided by New Foundations Aftercare case
managers for 12 months post permanency.

New Foundations
Aftercare program services 23 families. Both Aftercare case managers
combined have successfully discharged 3 families from the Aftercare
Unit to date. Each goal of permanency was reunification. The
aftercare case mangers will continue to successfully discharge cases
in the upcoming months.

Latoya
continues to exhibit academic excellence and has now been accepted to
3 universities. Illeah, Samara and Anthony are also doing a great job
in school and were on honor roll last quarter.

DON’T FORGET…
Don’t forget that we are always looking for new foster parents so
we are better able to match the children coming into our care with
qualified and caring foster families. If you, or anyone you are
connected with is interested in learning more about foster
parenting, please contact our recruitment or case management staff
at (215) 203-8733 or (610) 876-4474 or 1-877-NFI-4KID
(1-877-634-4543) or visit our website at
www.nfi4kids.org.

Pointers on Teaching Children a Second
Language

There are many
benefits for children who are taught a second language.They are often better communicators, they develop better
cognitively, and they are culturally conscious and culturally
sensitive to others.
These things can lead to better job opportunities in the future.

It
will also do wonders for the child as an individual.They will feel better about themselves because they are able to
communicate with different types of people.This will also make it easier for them to make friends and
have a better understanding of these friends.

It
is suggested that the “window of opportunity” for children to learn a
second language is from birth to age 10.After the age of 12, it becomes very difficult for one to
develop an accent.They
will pick up on the language quicker, be able to better retain it, and
have a greater chance of developing a native accent.

One
suggestion of how to teach a child a second language is the bilingual
approach.This approach
supports teaching children both their native and second languages
paralleled.If a parent is
teaching a child the word “cheese”, they would first say it in their
native language and then the second language. Another suggestion to
begin teaching a young child a second language is to start by using
small tools such as flashcards.There are many other kits and tools that can be found in book
stores, advertised on the television, and on the internet.

It is very
important to make sure that the child does not feel overwhelmed while
learning.This can be done
by ensuring that the size of vocabulary being taught at once is
appropriate for the age of that child.There is also a suggested timetable given by
abchomepreschool.com.It
goes as follows:

Infant-10
minutes

Toddler- 20
minutes

Preschooler-
30 minutes

Elementary
school- 45 minutes

This experience
should be fun and exciting for the child.If the adult teacher becomes frustrated they should take time
away from the activity.It
should also be noted that a child may go through a “silent period”.During this time they may understand what is being taught to
them, but may not be able to verbalize it in the second language.In this instance, you may ask a question in the second language
and the child will reply in their first language.

Teaching
children a second language will primarily be beneficial to the child,
but it can also benefit the entire family.It can help them socially, intellectually, and professionally.It can also serve as time that the family spends together.It should be enjoyable to all who are involved.If the pointers given are used in conjunction with some of the
latest research, your child could be on their way to establishing a
great advantage for their future.

Poison Control Awareness Week falls during
mid-March. This is a time to remember what dangers there are in
every home and a time to make sure your home is safe. Please don't
just say "my child won't get into that, he know's better." Many
household products can look similar to eatable or drinkable items.
It is important to remember to keep cleaning materials and the like
away from the kitchen to avoid confusion. A child may not be able to
read a label that an adult can and accidently drink something toxic.
Apple juice looks similar to tiki torch fluid and is packaged in a
similar container. An adult may make the mistake of giving a child
something toxic if it is mislabeled or taken out of its original
container. Windshield washer fluid can look very similar to blue
juice punch. Yellow sports drink can look like antifreeze, which is
extremely toxic to children and animals and also has a sweet taste.
Philadelphia's poison control hotline can be reached at anytime at
1-800-222-1222. All calls are kept confidential. If you suspect your
child has ingested something toxic and they are conscious call
immediately. If the child is not conscious, call 911 immediately.
Poison control or emergency professionals will instruct you as to
what to do. Make sure you tell them exactly what the child or adult
has ingested. "Philadelphia's Poison Control Center receives about
150 calls a day. Most calls are concerning children under six-years
old who ingested something at home."
Source

In
our newsletter we often talk about children’s health, but what about
their caregivers, our foster and adoptive parents? Many people know
that it is bad to take acetaminophen or Tylenol and drink
alcohol because of the effects it can have on the liver, but what
about some other interactions you may not think of? There are
consequences to mixing certain foods or drinks and medications.
Coumadin is a blood thinner that some adults may take. Coumadin can
interact with green leafy vegetables in one way and with cranberry
juice in another way. Grapefruit and its juice can interact with
cholesterol and blood pressure medications. Antibiotics such as
Cipro can become ineffective if taken with calcium, even with milk.
Even homeopathic medications like St. John’s Wort, which is used to
treat depression, can have serious interactions and cause liver
problems. Make sure you are educated on your medications and what
they interact with. Talk to your doctor consistently and let he or
she know of any changes in diet or medication and never stop taking
a medication without talking to your doctor first as some cannot be
stopped suddenly, but must be tapered away.
Source